We provide service to address opioid misuse prevention, targeting women and girls in the Greater Baton Rouge region. The aim of the Program is to develop and implement prevention strategies, educational activities, specifically tailored to address the unique needs of women across the lifespan.

The United States has seen an alarming rise in overdose deaths from prescription painkillers and nonprescription opioids among women. A unique combination of biological, health, and social factors has led to the growing opioid epidemic among women.

In Louisiana, the total number of opioid-related deaths was 305 in 2016. When comparing Louisiana to national rates, Louisiana is among the upper-range states with a drug overdose rate of 15.1-18.4 deaths per 100,000 population, and a rate of 9.4-10.3 per 1,000 > age 12 for past year opioid abuse or dependence (CDC, 2016). The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s office reports show that overdose deaths for all drugs have risen from 64 to 89 from 2014 to 2016. Of the drug overdose deaths for 2016, 34 out of the 89 (38%) deaths were related to heroin overdose.

Use of prescription painkillers appears to be a driving force behind the marked increase in opioid overdoses. The CDC reports that since 1999, the amount of prescription opioids sold in the United States nearly quadrupled, yet there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.

Deaths from prescription opioids—drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone—have more than quadrupled since 1999. Geographical differences in opioid prescription rates are also evident, with Southern states showing the highest rates. Louisiana has one of the highest rates of opioid prescriptions in the entire United States, and actually has more opioid prescriptions than people. Unfortunately, tolerance to opioid drugs, over time, and difficulty in obtaining prescription opiates causes many to turn to the black market for these drugs, or switch from prescription drugs to cheaper and more risky substitutes like heroin.